Impressions of MOTCS

My Impression of Moon of the Crusted Snow

 

Connections

The author’s descriptions of the cultural practices in this novel remind me of my dad’s side of the family and how they focus a lot on keeping the culture alive. I remember going blueberry picking nearby with my grandma Roselinda, and after we were done we would put down semaa kind of like Evan when was finished hunting. Even though we weren’t hunting, we still did that because we took something from the earth and we had to give thanks.

While the author was describing the Dan and Patricia’s home in Moon of The Crusted Stone, I was visualizing houses that I have seen in my community. Most of the homes that I have seen in Wikwemikong have vinyl siding and high basements. I believe that homes that are Wikwemikong and their house in this story look similar because it is simple to make homes with siding and big basements. However, it still helps me visualize the story better and imagine what it must look like when Evan visits his parents.

Image via Travois.com

Questions

  1. When I was reading this selection, I felt curious as to what the event that triggers all the other events in this novel is going to be.
  2. The images that stand out in my mind while reading this novel are what the homes look like. These images affected my emotions because they made this story feel more familiar to me.
  3. Experiences/feelings that were described in this story that were similar to one I’ve had were when the power goes out and everyone in the house is actually talking to each other.
  4. This selection isn’t too similar to other ones I have read before because people usually don’t write novels about present-day Aboriginal people.
  5. New insights that I have gained from reading this selection were how some reserves in Canada just recently got amenities like cell service and internet.
  6. I like that this selection gives lots of detail for the characters and makes them feel like real people. I dislike how the dialogue for the characters sometimes feels too casual or too unnatural.
  7. This work is relevant to my life and my community because I live on an Indian reservation too. A lot of the people in my community live lives similar to Evan and his family.